


Child's Play

by SlayerEnfiniti



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Gen, babysitter Levi, kid Eren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-18
Updated: 2014-06-18
Packaged: 2018-02-05 04:04:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1804630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlayerEnfiniti/pseuds/SlayerEnfiniti
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi gets bribed into babysitting his best friend's younger brother...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Child's Play

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> I'm purposely ambiguous about ages in this fic. Feel free to imagine whatever you want! My tumblr dash has been flooded with shota Eren artwork lately, so I just had to get this out.

      “Pleeeeeease!” Hange’s voice grated on his ears, shrill with desperation.

  
      Levi kept walking away from her, leaving her to trail after. “Why the fuck would I babysit a kid? They’re walking, talking mess machines.”

      The school halls were nearly empty by this point. Everyone else was blissfully on their way home, but here was Levi being held behind by his desperate friend. Literally held back. “He’s my little brother and usually I’m fine taking care of him but the sale ends todaaaaaay Levi I have GOT to go! It’ll be like two hours I promise.”

      He hitched his backpack a little higher and shook her off. “No. Hell no. You don’t need to buy more weird shit anyway.” A teacher walked by and gave him a dirty look which Levi happily returned. Hange ran in front of him and walked backward, her eyes wide and pleading. “You don’t. Why would I even want to babysit the kid anyway, I met him once.” More like they’d been in the same room once, all Levi could remember was a mop of brown hair and a shrill screech as the child was taken out.

      “Eren’s weird I know but you HAVE met him and I’ll buy you tea every day for a week I am desperate okay?” Levi hesitated. “And I’ll still owe you one. A big one.”

      He blew out a breath. “Two hours?” He could put on a movie and pass that, there were worse things than watching a kid movie. He could handle that. And his favorite tea was expensive, he usually got it once a week at best.

      Her whole face lit up. “Yes! Come on, come on! Oh, Levi, you’re the best!” She grabbed his arm and physically dragged him out of the school as he fired off a quick text to Gunter.

      A few minutes later, they reached Hange’s house. Levi puffed a little, used to taking the bus, but he refrained from complaining. Her house was only a few blocks from school, he should be grateful. She unlocked the door and let them in. “I’m home and I found a sitter!”

      Levi shucked off his shoes and dropped his backpack in the entrance. By the time he followed Hange to the living room, her mother was there.

      “Oh, Levi, thank you so much. We won’t take long.” She glanced guiltily to the side, and there stood Eren. His face was hidden underneath his unruly tangle of hair, and he was covered head to toe in dirt. “Sorry… we tried gardening today…” She knelt next to the boy and spoke gently. “Eren, this is Levi. He’s going to stay with you for a little while while Mommy and Big Sis go out, okay?” Eren whined, grabbed her leg, and buried his face against it. “Come on, it’ll just be for a little bit. We’ll be back before bedtime.” A little grumble of a voice protested, but Eren let go and stepped back.

      “Hey,” Levi said awkwardly. What was he supposed to say?

      “‘Lo,” Eren mumbled. “I’m Eren…”

      “Aaaaand bye,” Hange finished, turning and walking out. Her mother followed, and once the door slammed shut Levi was left alone with Eren.

      A long moment passed where the two just looked at each other. Levi was at a loss. The kid was so dirty he didn’t want to even come close. He opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment his phone buzzed.

      >Sorry we left so fast. Food in fridge, Eren can show you the bathroom. Try not to blow everything up <3

      Levi sighed and tucked his phone away again. “Hey. You wanna show me the bathroom? You need to clean up.” Eren, who had been shifting restlessly from foot to foot, straightened up and gave him a big grin.

      “In a bath?”

      Well. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to get along after all.

 

* * *

 

      Eren was anything but quiet in the bathroom. When Levi stripped him down and plopped him in the tub, the ear-splitting shriek sounded like murder. The immediate instinct was that something was terribly wrong, but the giant grin on Eren’s face and the way he splashed around quickly soothed Levi’s fear that Eren was somehow dying. Levi’s eardrums might start bleeding, but he was taking care of one happy kid.

      Scrubbing a squirmy child was not easy, but with patience and eventual deafness Levi got it done. By the time Eren was clean, more of the water was on the floor than in the tub, and Levi himself was soaked. But a victory was still a victory. He set the washcloth down with a sigh. “Alright, kid, time to get out.”

      The unholy howl that came out of Eren’s mouth stopped Levi cold. It was very, very different from the previous laugh-shrieks and it was most definitely unhappy. “E-Eren, you’re clean now…” Another howl and a giant splash. Levi had to raise his voice to be heard. “You can’t live in the tub!” The cry took on a new pitch of disagreement, sending pain lancing through his temples. He grabbed for Eren, but the squeaky-clean skin slid out from his grasp. “Oh for-” At that moment, his phone buzzed. He was going to ignore the text, but it buzzed again. Someone was calling.

      Biting his lip to keep from swearing in front of a child, Levi rubbed a hand on a relatively dry patch of his jeans and picked up the phone. “Levi!” he yelled over Eren’s screams.

      “Hey, your text was…” Gunter’s voice trailed off as the cacophony of echoing screams no doubt blistered his ear. “Oh shit you’re babysitting.”

      “Gunter, help,” Levi pleaded as he tightened his free hand around one of Eren’s flailing wrists. “How do I turn it off?”

      A faint groan. Levi pressed the phone tighter to his ear and held on for dear life. “Repeat after me. ‘Eren, would you like to watch the dinosaurs?’”

      “E-Eren,” Levi managed as the kid almost nailed him with a rubber duck. “You wanna watch dinosaurs?” The howl faltered to a hiccup. In the blessed quiet, Levi’s ears rang and his head pounded. Eren looked up at him, eyes watering, lip quivering, and nodded. “He said yes, now what?” Levi asked breathlessly. He loosened his grip on Eren’s wrist now that he was less likely to get punched.

      “Tell him he needs to get out to watch it. Movie’s in the cabinet right next to the TV, on the top shelf. Good luck!” With a click, the line went dead. Levi breathed out carefully and tucked his phone back in his pocket.

      “Alright, kiddo. You have to get out to watch the dinosaurs. There aren’t any TV’s in here.”

      Eren’s lip quivered visibly, but he pushed himself to his feet. “Mmkay…” Levi pulled the plug and grabbed a towel.

      A few minutes later, a poofy-haired, mostly-dry, and half-dressed kid followed meekly after him into the front room. The DVD proved easy enough to find, and fortunately the player wasn’t that different from Levi’s own. Eren plopped down on the floor near the edge of the couch, eyes glued to the screen as a happy tune started up. With a groan, Levi sat on the couch. He’d been here barely any time at all and he was exhausted.

      For lack of anything better to do, Levi watched the screen, too. The bright, cheerful colors weren’t easy on his eyes, but the characters were actually well-rounded and the plot was interesting, too. He hadn’t thought companies would put this much effort into a kid’s movie, but to his surprise he found himself actually enjoying it and wondering what would happen next.

      It was during a brief interlude he noticed.

      It was quiet.

      Completely quiet, not even the little scuffing noises of Eren moving his feet back and forth.

      Levi whipped his head around to the side of the couch.

      Where the hell was Eren?

      Levi jumped up from the couch and started down the hall. “Eren?” A thud from another room. Indulging in a few choice swears, Levi took off at a trot. Why couldn’t they both just watch the dinosaurs?

      The room at the end of the hall’s door was ajar. Another thump. Holding his breath, Levi snuck up to the gap and peered through. Oh shit, Eren had found paint. Red paint. He opened the door wide and took a deep breath. “Eren-”

      Eren held a paintbrush in each hand. The walls were adorned with dark streaks, and speckles covered Eren’s face. He looked up at Levi with wild eyes.

      Levi’s heart hammered in his throat. Gaping red wounds. Blood spatter. Screams and roars from another world. Levi swallowed hard, fighting back a delirious laugh. Eren. It was Eren. How could he not have remembered? His world realigned, a little different than it had been moments before.

      Eren’s wide blue-green eyes stared up at him, begging him.

      Levi took a shaky breath. “Rrr…” he managed weakly. Eren took a small step back, face running through confusion, happiness, and something Levi couldn’t identify. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Rrrah!” Making his pace slow and lumbering, he shuffled into the room.

      Eren squealed in delight and danced backward. “Titan!” A lump clogged Levi’s throat.

      Paint spattered from the ends of Eren’s brushes as he darted forward and ran full-tilt toward Levi’s leg. Levi sucked in a breath, eyes watering as Eren slammed a brush handle into his knee, then darted back. “Rrrrah!” He fell forward carefully. “That’s not my neck…” he whispered. On all fours, he pulled himself toward Eren again.

      “Titan! Titan!” Eren yelled, running behind Levi and slamming his brush into Levi’s butt.

      “Ow! I mean, uh, rrrrrr…” Levi collapsed onto the ground and felt Eren climb up on his back. A breathy giggle. Levi ducked his head a little, exposing the back of his neck and hoping Eren wouldn’t hit it as hard.

      A shiver ran down his back as Eren gently painted over his nape. “Dead, dead Titan.” he sang happily. Levi made a little sound of agreement and relaxed completely, letting Eren run the gooey brush across his neck again. “All dead. All dead.”

      “Yeah…” Levi breathed, fighting back tears. “They’re all dead, Eren. Every last one.”

 

* * *

 

      Hange ducked out of the car and headed toward the door. They’d taken longer than expected, of course, but there had been so many great deals that it really wasn’t possible to see everything quickly. They might have taken longer still, but Levi hadn’t responded to Hange’s latest text. It wasn’t like him, and frankly she was more than a little worried.  
The door squeaked open. “Levi? Eren?” No answer. Levi’s shoes were here, his bag still dumped carelessly in the corner. “Leeeevi?” Hange rounded the corner to the front room and stopped short.

      The TV was on, the title screen for Eren’s favorite movie running on loop without attention. On the couch lay Levi, covered head to toe in red paint and fast asleep. Curled up on his stomach, Eren lay in a similar painted state. Hange covered her mouth and took in the scene for a long minute, then crept up next to Levi’s head. “Hey,” she whispered. “Levi. I’ve come to relieve you…”

      Levi stirred slightly, brows creasing as he woke. “Nnh…”

      “Shh, careful, you’ll wake Eren.” He froze, blinking sleepily. Then he yawned and rubbed his forehead.

      “Shitty glasses… y’re finally back…” he mumbled.

      A long beat of silence.

      “Mom’s unpacking the car. Let’s get Eren to bed.” Levi made a little noise of agreement and Hange carefully took Eren. He was big enough now that she grunted with effort as she hoisted him up, but he only made a sleepy sound and nuzzled against her neck. As she took him back to his room, Levi scrubbed a hand across his face and tried to wake up. A minute later, she returned. “I see you exchanged dirt for paint. You two hit it off, then?”

      He looked away. “I guess.” What could he say? Nothing. It was a secret he couldn’t share. “Eren did some, uh, redecorating in the end bedroom. Sorry, he got away from me.”

      Hange laughed and shook her head. “Go on, go on, you’ve done enough. Thanks, I’ll try not to need you again.”

      Levi shook his head vigorously. “No, I’ll… I’ll do it again. I mean, if you want. He’s… just, you know I better go now.” He pushed himself to his feet and walked toward the door, wincing as dried paint pulled his skin.

      “Byee!”

 

* * *

 

      A few hours later, Levi got another text.

      >Eren has something he likes more than dinosaurs now. When can you come over again?

      Looking down at the text, Levi smiled.


End file.
